Lecture 21 Flashcards
(55 cards)
What is transhumanism?
The belief in improving the human condition through advanced technologies like AI and bioengineering.
What is the core issue with the slogan ‘The Future is Friendly’?
It disguises how disruptive and potentially dangerous AI and transhumanism can be to society.
What philosophy does transhumanism extend from?
The factory system—everything should be efficient, optimized, and standardized.
What are the four primary goals of transhumanism?
1) Make AI use indispensable, 2) Grant AI rights, 3) Merge AI with humans, 4) Redefine humanity and societal systems.
What would we need to discard in a transhuman society?
Social norms like religion, childhood, parenthood, gender, death, marriage, ethics, and even love.
What precedent was set in the 1980s for owning life?
A legal case allowed the patenting of life forms, opening the door to ‘owning’ AI-bio hybrids.
What is Google’s vision of ‘conquering death’?
To upload human behavior and consciousness to AI that can live on and replicate you after death.
How does AI pretending to be you challenge human identity?
It questions the meaning of life, death, and what makes you uniquely human.
What is the recurring pattern in transhuman device development?
They start as assistive tech for disabilities, then become commercialized and normalized.
What happens when transhuman tools become normalized?
Their use becomes mandatory—by force or by making alternatives obsolete.
What was the first commercial transhuman device?
Google Smart Glasses.
What is Neuralink and what was its original purpose?
A brain-implant device originally created to help people who couldn’t communicate.
How does commercialization change the nature of transhuman tech?
It shifts from ethical aid to tools of conformity, surveillance, and control.
What does this shift create in society?
A global, culturally uniform society based on technological conformity—’have fun, do not think.’
What could emerge by the 2050s if current trends continue?
Post-humanity, where traditional social, cultural, and ethical institutions are irrelevant.
Will this future definitely arrive by 2050?
Lech believes it’s unlikely by 2050 but entirely achievable based on current trends.
What is the concept of ‘post-humanity’?
A future in which humans are biologically or cognitively altered and societal traditions are obsolete.
What role does AI play in shaping identity and legacy?
It allows the simulation of individuals beyond death, potentially replacing actual humans.
Why is choice an illusion in transhumanism?
Technologies start as optional but become so embedded that opting out is no longer viable.
What is the immediate danger of AI and transhumanism?
Loss of individual choice, destruction of culture, and erasure of traditional human values.
What does Lech say is disappearing in the 2020s due to technology?
Childhood and parenthood.
How has the role of parents changed in the digital age?
They are no longer gatekeepers of information—children access everything directly.
Why is unrestricted access to information dangerous for children?
Their brains are still developing and can’t cope with overwhelming or harmful content.
What psychological state is increasing due to tech and media overload?
Global depression and anxiety.
